Adilson da Silva
After finishing as the runner-up on the MCB Road to Mauritius the last two seasons, the Brazilian is in a fantastic position to end this year on top of the pile. He’s the only multiple winner in 2024, having picked up trophies following play-offs at the OFX Irish Legends and European Legends Cup – taking his total number of Legends Tour wins to seven since August 2022. Da Silva also has a 2nd place at the Zambia Golf Legends Championship, tied-2nd at the WINSTONgolf Senior Open and five more top-10s. That all adds up to a healthy advantage of 762.6 points on the season-long Order of Merit, which means only two players have the chance to overtake him – and they both have to win and rely on Da Silva finishing down the leaderboard.
“It would be a wonderful thing to finish number one on the MCB Road to Mauritius,” said the 52-year-old, who would guarantee the title by finishing 7th or better this week. “It would be the cherry on top after finishing 2ndthe last two years. It will be really special for me and mean a lot for me and my family.”
Scott Hend
It’s been a case of always the bridesmaid never the bride for the Aussie this season. He’s 2nd on the MCB Road to Mauritius, but the three-time DP World Tour winner hasn’t had a victory. He picked up big points for finishing tied-4th at a senior major championship, the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, and was the runner-up at the Barbados Legends, Costa Navarino Legends Tour Trophy and Legends Open de France. He has to win the MCB Tour Championship Mauritius and rely on Da Silva finishing 8th or worse to finish the season at the summit.
“I’ve just got to play good golf and that takes care of everything. I’m going out to win. I’ve just got to look at my own game, shoot a low score and see what happens.”
He’s been quick to get a feel for the par-72 Legends Course ahead of his first appearance at this event: “The front nine plays a little bit different from the back. The back nine sort of hems you in, so everyone hits it to nearly the same spot, but on the front nine you get a little bit more freedom to pull the driver out. It’s going to be interesting to see where the prevailing winds come from and how the week pans out.”
Peter Baker
The only other player who has a chance to take home the season-long title is the man who won this tournament last year to do exactly that. That was a fourth win of a brilliant campaign for the former Ryder Cup player, but he hasn’t quite been able to replicate that scintillating form this time around. He did pick up where he left off with a win at the first event of the year, the Barbados Legends, but he hasn’t tasted victory since. The Englishman lost to Da Silva in a play-off at the European Legends Cup and recorded a couple of 3rdplaces in the OFX Irish Legends and Swiss Senior Open. He must defend his title this week and hope that Da Silva finishes 36th or worse if he’s to retain his MCB Road to Mauritius Crown.
“It’s a beautiful island, lovely people, and it just gets better every year, so it’s great to come back, especially as I’ve had some good results around here,” said the seven-time Legends Tour winner. “You’ve got to be very good off the tee and try not to make too many mistakes. You want to make a few birdies, but it’s really just trying to keep it on the fairway and then take your chances on the easier flag positions or play for the middle of the green on the difficult ones.
“I actually didn’t think I could still win the MCB Road to Mauritius, but I’ve just been told I can. That’s great, but it’s a long way to the top. I’ve got to win it and rely on other factors, but it’s nice to be here and have a chance at this great tournament. I’m just going to try and do what I did last year.”
Colin Montgomerie
The man with 54 worldwide wins and a record eight DP World Tour Order of Merit titles comes to the MCB Tour Championship Mauritius keen to add a second success at this wonderful tournament to his glowing CV – having triumphed here in 2015.
“It’s always nice to have this on the resume,” says the victorious 2010 Ryder Cup captain. “I always see my picture on the wall when I come into the clubhouse and check the board for the hole-in-one I made on the 17th. It was great.
“The course is a challenge, and it has improved over the years. The greens are rolling very true this year, so anticipate low scoring. I know it’s going to be breezy, but expect low scoring and a great tournament.
“I want to win, but at the same time, the competition out here on the Legends Tour has improved dramatically. There’s great strength in depth that there possibly wasn’t 10 years ago. To win here is difficult, but that’s the goal.”
Ian Woosnam
Woosie is one of three major champions and seven former Ryder Cup players in the field this week. The 1991 Masters winner is still a massive draw whenever he tees it up and he’s delighted to be competing on the Legends Tour at 66 years of age.
“I’m looking forward to playing and being part of the Tour. You know, this is more of my job these days, to be part of the promotion of the golf tournament and everything, and for me to enjoy it and just have fun and try and help this Tour as much as I possibly can.
“Over the years, the course has improved such a lot. It’s got wider and more open, which is great because it lets the wind through and makes it more tricky. It’s a great little golf course. There’s so many little hazards here – you could take some big numbers.”
